Tag: cessation

This is one of the best Urge Tamers you will learn. Do this deep breathing when you have an urge.

1. Breathe in deeply through your nose.

2. Hold your breath for 3 seconds.

3. Slowly breathe out through pursed lips to make a “whooshing” sound.

4. Keep breathing this way until the urge goes away. Sometimes you may need to do the smokeless inhalation 2-3 times, or up to 12-13 times. An increase in oxygen helps you feel relaxed.

The smoking cycle:

Actions, especially habits, are linked. For example, you may light up a cigarette without thinking when you start your car, end a meal, drink coffee, or hear your alarm clock. If you dip or use other forms of tobacco/nicotine, you may have similar triggers.

Altering triggers can help you break your automatic habits.

Scrambling

Scramble your routine to stop the triggers before they happen.

1. Change your morning routine.

2. Change your work area and the times of the day you do things.

3. Change the route you take to work.

4. Change the way you talk on the phone.

5. Take a walk with a water bottle instead of a coffee break.

6. Sit in a new place at the dining room or kitchen table.

7. What other ways can you change your routines?

Maybe you have started this program in the action phase-you are already quitting or have just quit. While you may have a quit date in mind, this phase is more than just one day. This phase usually lasts about six months for any behavior change. It starts when you start putting your plan into place and continues as you go through challenges and practice your new way of living.

In a few words, describe your current quit plan.

Who is supporting you?

Remember, you may be moving back and forth between stages during your quitting process. Some days may be easier than others. It is important to stay very alert during the active phase, as slip-ups are very common. You will probably face many new challenges, from new stressors to different times of the year and holidays.

Even if you have started this program in the action phase, work through the guide in order. Building a strong foundation will help you get through the first few months of quitting-and beyond.

Smokeless tobacco includes chewing tobacco, which may also be called oral tobacco or spit tobacco. Smokeless tobacco also includes both moist and dry snuff, snus, and dissolvable tobacco products. Smokeless tobacco is not a safe form of tobacco, even if that is often how it is marketed by tobacco companies. Smokeless tobacco carries many serious risks.

Smokeless tobacco can cause cancers of the:

*  Mouth, tongue, cheek & gums

*  Esophagus

*  Pancreas

Smokeless tobacco can also cause:

*  Sores in the mouth called leukoplakia that can become cancer

*  Stained teeth

*  Bad breath

*  Gum disease, cavities, tooth decay, and tooth loss

*  Bone loss around the teeth

*  Heart disease

*  High blood pressure

*  Increased risk of heart attack and stroke

*  Pregnancy complications and low birth weight

The maintenance phase of quitting starts after you have been quit for about six months. At this point, your tobacco/nicotine free lifestyle has started to feel more normal and routine. It can take years to feel like tobacco/nicotine is truly in the past, though. In this phase, you may not be thinking of your old habit on a daily basis, but reminders are still all around you. Your new habits are still young.

What do you enjoy about being tobacco/nicotine free?

What challenges have you overcome to get here?

If you have quit before and relapsed, what tripped you up?

Stress is one of the most common triggers for relapse. This guide has many tools for responding to things that happen to you. While it may not be possible to control what happens in your life, you can control your response.

Deepen your motivation, understand your barriers (even if you already overcame them), and build a supportive team you can lean on when the going gets tough.